General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee Tô Lâm and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Central Committee and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez. — Photo from the Voice of Việt Nam

MOSCOW — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm held bilateral meetings with leaders from Cuba, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Venezuela, Mongolia, Armenia, and Slovakia in Moscow on May 8 evening, as they attended a banquet hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin to welcome world leaders attending the 80th anniversary of Victory Day.

In the meeting with First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Central Committee and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, the Vietnamese leader expressed his delight at the special traditional and fraternal relations between the two countries, which continue to be nurtured, strengthened, and developed intensively and extensively across all areas for the practical benefit of the two peoples.

He affirmed that the Party, State, Government, National Assembly, and people of Việt Nam will never forget Cuba’s wholehearted support for its past struggle for national liberation. Việt Nam always values, preserves, and is determined to further deepen the traditional solidarity and comprehensive cooperation with Cuba, standing side by side in support of the Cuban people's just revolutionary cause.

General Secretary Lâm stressed the importance of continuing to realise high-level commitments and agreements, and called for closer coordination to strengthen bilateral cooperation in key areas such as economy, trade, agriculture, food security, and energy security. The General Secretary also reaffirmed Việt Nam's consistent stance of opposing unilateral sanctions against Cuba.

President Díaz-Canel also lauded the valuable support from the Vietnamese Government and people, affirming that Việt Nam has always been a highly trusted friend, consistently supporting and assisting Cuba in overcoming difficulties in its national development, especially during periods affected by blockades and sanctions.

He praised the Cuba – Việt Nam relationship as a noble symbol, founded by President Fidel Castro and President Hồ Chí Minh, and nurtured by generations of leaders from both nations.

In that spirit, he said, Cuba has recently held a series of commemorative events marking the 50th anniversary of liberation of the South and national reunification of Việt Nam, demonstrating its friendship and special solidarity with the Vietnamese people.

On this occasion, President Díaz-Canel pledged to instruct relevant Cuban ministries and agencies to closely coordinate with Việt Nam in implementing the outcomes of General Secretary Lâm’s state visit to Cuba in September 2024, with a focus on promoting investment and trade ties, particularly in agriculture and food security.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. — Photo from the Voice of Việt Nam

During his meeting with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, General Secretary Lâm noted that Việt Nam always values its traditional friendship with Uzbekistan and that the CPV seeks to enhance relations with Uzbekistan’s political parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party.

He expressed Việt Nam's willingness to serve as a bridge to strengthen Uzbekistan’s ties with other Southeast Asian countries, and proposed that Uzbekistan support Vietnam in expanding its relations with Central Asian nations and boosting interregional connectivity.

President Mirziyoyev voiced strong support for advancing bilateral relations, and suggested the two sides work towards the successful organisation of the 8th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade, and Scientific-Technical Cooperation within this year.

He also called for deeper collaboration in oil and gas, education, and transport, including the launch of more direct flights and the expansion of multimodal freight transport.

Both leaders agreed to intensify political dialogue and exchanges at all levels, particularly the high-level one, through Party, State, Government, National Assembly, and local channels. They also pledged to continue close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums; facilitate business engagement and investment; and promote cultural and sports exchanges, tourism cooperation, and people-to-people diplomacy.

On the occasion of attending the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War in Russia, on the evening of May 8, General Secretary Lâm also had bilateral meetings with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

At the meetings, the foreign leaders congratulated Việt Nam on successfully organising the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification and affirmed that Việt Nam is an important partner of their countries in Southeast Asia.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his deep impression of Việt Nam’s warm reception during his state visit to the country in March and informed that he had directed relevant ministries, agencies, and localities to implement the high-level commitments and agreements signed between the two countries.

General Secretary Lâm affirmed that Việt Nam highly appreciates and supports Brazil in successfully organising the BRICS Summit and the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30).

On this occasion, the Brazilian President invited Việt Nam to send a high-ranking delegation to the event.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

During the meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, General Secretary Lâm thanked Venezuela for its good sentiments towards the Party, State and people of Việt Nam as well as for sending a delegation to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification.

The General Secretary also emphasised the good results in the relationship over the past time. The two sides agreed to promote the implementation of the cooperation agreements reached, thereby further deepening the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development of the two peoples and the world.

During the meeting with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, General Secretary Lâm expressed his delight at the results achieved in many fields since the two countries established a Comprehensive Partnership in September 2024 during General Secretary Lâm’s state visit to Mongolia.

The two leaders reaffirmed their efforts to realise the committed cooperation frameworks, thereby contributing to promoting the extensive development of bilateral relations.

At the meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, General Secretary Lâm highly valued the results of the official visit to Armenia by National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn in April and emphasised that the two countries need to further strengthen the exchange of delegations at all levels, thereby further strengthening the political trust between the two countries.

The leaders discussed measures to further strengthen the traditional friendship and good cooperation between the two countries as well as a number of international and regional issues of mutual concern.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had talks on May 9 in Moscow. — VNA/VNS Photo

Meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 9, Lâm affirmed that Việt Nam always attaches importance to developing its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Slovakia, stressing that the Vietnamese people always remember and deeply appreciate the invaluable support and solidarity extended by the Slovak people during Việt Nam’s past struggle for independence and national reunification, as well as in its ongoing journey of socio-economic development and international integration.

Fico, in turn, praised Việt Nam’s growing role and stature in the region and the world, describing Việt Nam as a top important partner in Southeast Asia and wishes to further promote bilateral ties across various areas.

Both leaders agreed to continue bolstering cooperation in all fields by intensifying high-level delegation exchanges to strengthen political trust and mutual understanding. They committed to boosting economic ties by capitalising on complementary strengths, particularly in the face of global and regional uncertainties. The leaders also pledged to enhance collaboration in education, sci-tech, innovation, student exchanges, culture, and tourism.

They also agreed to closely coordinate in addressing regional and global issues, support each other at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, strategic partnership and ASEAN–EU frameworks.

On the occasion, Lâm called on Slovakia to advocate for the European Commission’s removal of the “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood exports and encourage remaining EU member states to ratify the EU–Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) promptly.

Fico proposed joint cultural initiatives in 2025 to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties, including cultural days, art exhibitions, film weeks, music and dance performances, and sports exchanges. He also urged Vietnam to consider visa exemptions for Slovak citizens to facilitate tourism, business and investment ties.

General Secretary Lâm thanked the Slovak Government for recognising the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority group in Slovakia. He hoped Slovak authorities would continue supporting the community’s integration into local society, enabling them to contribute to Slovakia’s development while fostering the friendship between the two countries' people. — VNA/VNS